PURSUIT OF POWER 'Across The World' You can get the sense of forward thrust on Pursuit Of Power's debut album 'Across The World', ideally a great soundtrack for those going on tornado chasing, with it's tasty melodic riffs and harmonious musical backdrops, 'Across The World' is a one of a kind. Spawned from the brains of Martin McCann and his friend Steve Mullican Jr., the musical epic delivers a breathtaking elegant production of solid music, epic atmosphere and heavenly vocals, all of which can be drawn in comparison to bands like Sonata Arctica and Iron Maiden. If 'Across The World' is anything to go by, Pursuit Of Power could may well be bringing a new sound to the table, with bouncy riffs, speedy drumming and pedal to the metal no-nonsense. [8] RHYS STEVENSON BEYOND EXISTENCE 'Rising Tide' Words escape on this one, the production is dire and the drums are hardly heard, even the subtle guitar riffing gets less acknowledgement than a farmer on holiday leave. The fact being the quality is poor is an understatement; sure that generally can't be helped but the lack of musical presence is not really acceptable, even if it is the debut EP by Beyond Existence from The Netherlands. However, it is not entirely a flat fail, the only reprisal is that the keyboards give a delicate introduction, but the overall reaction to this release is not one of positivity, much has to be changed and fast or Beyond Existence could be faced with their own 'Rising Tide'. [3] RHYS STEVENSON ANGIST 'Circle of Suffering' 2011 saw another Icelandic Death Metal release, it seems that the country has a fascination with bringing out Death Metal releases, yet usually they are of tough quality, and Angist's 'Circle of Suffering' is no exception, bringing to the battlefront the old school style in the form of Bloodbath and Death to name a few. Fluid drumming, gut-rotten vocals and tricky riffs combine and mesh together to excrete a sound so petrifying, it made Eyjafjallajökull erupt in fear. Featuring two females and two males, the quartet from Reykjavík bring a revival to the old guard and freshen up the Icelandic Metal scene. 'Circle of Suffering' is a good sign of more to come, the tremors can be heard, you have been warned. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON J.T. RIPPER 'Death Is Among Us' German Speed Thrashers J.T. Ripper (Jack The Ripper) make a solid start to their career with their old school 80's style demo 'Death Is Among Us'. Playing uniquely in the style of early Slayer and Sepultura, the quartet makes no mess about it and progress with no hesitating whatsoever. Raw and rough recordings are how it should be and this band do not fail to impress with this release from which would seem apt to dub as possibly the revival of German 80's Thrash Metal. Taking a pinch of no-nonsense and dipping it in the cauldron of history, J.T. Rippers take the grizzly times of their historical moniker and moulds it onto modern times. [7] RHYS STEVENSON SLIPPERY 'First Blow' Take into account bands like Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Deep Purple and more in the Hard Rock / Heavy Metal vein and then add the Brazilian attitude to it and you end up with the quintet Slippery with their rocking debut album 'First Blow', their first album in their eight year career. With classic vocals in the Bruce Dickinson style and the guitars and drums coming together in the original Hard Rock style, this is a band who knows how to play clean edge metal without the need to be tricky, complex or so congested that they need a breather every five seconds. 'First Blow' is for those fans of classic NWOBHM and original Hard Rock music magic. [8] RHYS STEVENSON THRIVEN 'Bag Of Scumbags' Brazilian Metal is always known to be a fast and flexible sound when it comes to producing Heavy Metal, so when the quintet Thriven deliver their first album 'Bag Of Scumbags', the mountains shook and the pace of life in Sao Paulo went out of sync. Mixing Groove tunes with the smackdown force of Metalcore, the five-piece deliver a unique twist on Lamb of God from which is a clear influence. From the sensational and epic breakdown on 'A la Calabresi' to the spine-snapping speed track known as 'Fudge'. This is an album with enough potential to blow holes in speakers worldwide, this is the real deal, this is the 'Bag Of Scumbags' and it's going to haunt you, you have been warned. [8] RHYS STEVENSON CROSS UP YOURS 'Holy Shit' The voice of hate, the hatred against all religions is among us and it comes in various forms, so when Greg Bukinus delivers his first EP from the Black / Death Metal project Cross Up Yours, you get the sense this is one pissed off person. 'Holy Shit' delivers the raw vocals experienced in the darkest forms of Black Metal whilst enraging the human senses with the insanely fast drumming. Distinctly taking influences from bands like Carpathian Forest and Darkthrone, Cross Up Yours does more than deliver the evil goods, it says fuck to everyone and everything whilst morally and musically saluting the big fat middle finger, moral is: "when you put the Cross Up Yours, you get 'Holy Shit". [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON SUNLIGHT REALITY 'Through The Rings Of Darkness' Russia's Melodic Death Metal newcomers Sunlight Reality unleash their debut album 'Through The Rings Of Darkness' with a sound that sounds so common amongst other bands, the drumming is a little bland and ideally it's more of a Death Metal album as the melodies are just not there. The riffs are too consistent and lack any fluidity and the vocals are more shrieking than growling, so whether the band are in the wrong genre ideology or they weren't on their best form during the recording phase, remains a mystery, but it's not all there to be condoned, in fact the best descent thing about the album is that its fast, but even then it sounds a bit too fast, ah well MOUNTAIN GRAVE 'Ruins' & 'Rage & Ruin' Black / Death Metal from the USA at times can be dire, dull and boring, however it can be rewarding and so when bands like Mountain Grave come around, they swing the pendulum the other way, now taking into account that their 2010 demo is a raw sounding release and that this is between two albums, the overall production is not it's best. The drums deliver a solid sound and the raw buzzing of the guitars install a unique atmosphere but the vocals are hardly heard if not result in simple shrieks. Given due it has a dark and disturbing atmosphere it lacks in the musical presence section and as a result leaves the demo on a knife-edge. 2011 was a little better but had a trippy sound to it, instead of full-on double bass drumming and harsh vocals demolishing the sound around, it desecrates the release itself. The release in question is the band's second album 'Rage & Ruin', give due the riffs are more rampant than its predecessor and the drums are far more lively, but the vocals need a little oomph in the intonation. Overall it is a decent enough, crafted release but there are some minor areas that need dressing, if anything the album is for fans of old Black / Death Metal and not so much the behemoth style that dominates this genre these days. [4] + [6] RHYS STEVENSON TO THE MARROW
'For Your Blinded Minds' Smashing through the barriers of sound is newbies To The Marrow, the German Progressive Deathrashers make their immediate debut with their first ever album 'For Your Blinded Minds'. Featuring a multitude for sick breakdowns, feisty riffs, gut-wrenching drumming and juicy vocals, 'For Your Blinded Minds' is more than an album, it's a god damn assault course. Taking influence from bands like HateSphere and The Black Dahlia Murder, the quartet immerse the listener in some of the heaviest metal Germany has to offer this year, an instantaneous classic is born here and is sure to propel To The Marrow into the international metal scene limelight, if you thought you seen Extreme Metal, think again, you haven't seen nothing yet! [9] RHYS STEVENSON
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